Software-supported self-regulated learning strategies in an academic setting

Research on learning strategies and tactics has become important to explain students’ self-regulated learning. This study, informed by Winne’s self-regulated learning model, investigated students’ use of strategies and tactics in an authentic learning environment. Participants were 176 students in an introductory educational psychology course. Students used cognitive tools in gStudy, an educational software application, to facilitate learning. The Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ) was used to identify strategies and tactics reported by students. A cluster analysis was conducted to select representative students for qualitative content analysis of notes made while studying. The analysis identified two clusters, high-regulators and low-regulators. For each cluster, three representative participants were selected whose MSLQ reports were near the cluster centre. Content analysis of the six participants’ notes was conducted to qualitatively describe the learning strategies of the high-regulators and low-regulators.